This new app is the lazy Pokémon Go player's dream

If you're a Pokémon Go player, you're probably
one of the millions who use (and love) PokéVision,
the website that lets you see which Pokémon
are spawning nearby. But what if you don't want to spend
time combing through a website?

That's where a new (free!) Android app called PokeNotify comes
in.

The app is the handiwork of developer Joe Levy, who shared a
download link
on Reddit, asking Pokémon
Go players to test it out and offer feedback. (Update: The
app was recently
removed from the Google Play store — but Levy told
INSIDER in an email that he's working to bring it back.
Plus, the app can still be installed on Android devices
via a process called sideloading. In the meantime, you
can sign up for email updates about the app's
status right
here. Levy also said he plans to release an iOS
version of the app within the next month.)

What makes PokeNotify special? It searches your surroundings for
only the Pokémon that you want to
find. It also delivers push notifications when one of
those Pokémon pops up nearby. That means you
don't have to actively navigate to a website like
PokéVision (or run around like a maniac outside) to
find your favorites — you can just sit back and wait. Even
better: Unlike Pokémon Go, this app won't kill
your phone's battery.

"Between jobs, I had a bunch of free time and decided to
use that time in a productive way," Levy said. "Since my
girlfriend is absolutely obsessed with Pokémon
Go, and her phone keeps dying because of it, I thought it might
be fun to try to build something to help players like her
continue to play the game, but without the battery
strain."

Want to try it out? Here's how to use it:

First, you open the app to find a list of all
151 Pokémon available in the game. You check off which
ones you want to search for, then press "Enable Pokémon
Notifications."

INSIDER/Caroline Praderio

Every minute, the app searches up to 1 kilometer away from
your location, looking for the Pokémon you selected. If one
is found, you get a push notification that
says how far away the Pokémon is, in meters, and when it
will disappear (they only stay around about 15
minutes).

INSIDER/Caroline Praderio

When you press the notification, Google Maps launches,
and you'll find a pin dropped at the Pokémon's exact
location. (I've had my eye on a Tangela recently, and I found one
just a short walk away from the office.)

INSIDER/Caroline Praderio

Sure enough, when you arrive at the location, the Pokémon
is waiting.

A Tangela in the
wild.INSIDER/Caroline
Praderio

But there are a few catches.

First, I often got notifications for Pokémon that
were 700 or 800 meters away, but scheduled to disappear
in mere minutes. There wasn't enough time to reach them
unless I took off at a full sprint, so the notification felt
useless. And, for now, there's no way to alter the
range in which the app searches.

INSIDER/Caroline Praderio

It seems there are a few bugs, too: Sometimes, when I
pressed a notification, Google Maps failed to launch and I was
directed to the app's home screen instead. I got a
few duplicate notifications, too.

Finally: Some
Reddit commenters worried that the app may
violate Pokémon Go’s terms of service and
could get users banned from the game. But Levy said
that this is very unlikely."PokeNotify does not use your
personal Pokémon Go account in any way, so its
not possible for Niantic [the makers of Pokémon
Go] to tie use of PokeNotify to your Pokémon Go
account," he wrote onthe
app's FAQ page. He also told INSIDER that he plans to
add new features in future versions of the app that
will further protect users from potential bans.

So far, about 50,000 people have downloaded Levy's
app in just about 24 hours, and it's earned some
rave reviews online. If you can get it, it's a highly
useful aid for catching 'em all.

This article has been updated based on information provided
after the original publication.